GENESEO, N.Y. — "I traded my
hair to raise $687.18 for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. What have YOU
done?" read T-shirts worn by David Hoekstra and Donovan Shirkley, resident
assistants in the Nassau residence hall at the State University of New York at
Geneseo.

The two resident assistants found
a creative way to raise money for hurricane victims in the weeks following
Hurricane Katrina—whoever raised the least amount had to shave their
head. When the money was counted, Hoekstra came out on top by a mere 77 cents—both
resident assistants shaved their heads.

But it wasn't enough for Hoekstra, a junior from Clarence,
N.Y. "I am a firm believer that the power to do something gives you the
responsibility to do so."

Hoekstra is part of a group of 51 students foregoing the traditional
spring break beaches, suntans, ski resorts and nightclubs to assist with relief
efforts in Harrison County, Miss. The students, along with four faculty and
staff members also going on the trip, are part of Livingston CARES (Livingston County Community Action Relief Efforts).

Since the number of people able to join the Livingston CARES
trip is restricted by space on the bus, some student organizations are finding
other ways to help out. Twelve students in the Geneseo chapter of Habitat for
Humanity will be working to eliminate poverty housing—six students in New
Orleans and another six in Jacksonville, Fla.

Members of the Geneseo Outing Club also will spend the week
in New Orleans working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

While these Geneseo students work to help those in need,
others will take their academic experiences abroad. Meanwhile, students from a
variety of majors will participate in programs to plan for life after college.

A group of students studying abroad in Dublin will spend the
week enmeshed in the rich and vibrant literary, dramatic and cultural
traditions of the Irish capital. Another study abroad program gives the opportunity
to explore remnants of Mayan civilization at archaeological sites throughout
Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Two alumni-supported externship programs allow students to
explore career options over spring break. Four theatre majors will go to New
York City to shadow an agent, a designer and others working in the professional
theater business.

The Undergraduate Alumni Association's annual externship
program will send students to Boston this year. Participants will tour the city
and meet with a variety of employers representing the diverse array of
opportunities offered in the area.

With all the opportunities for offbeat spring breaks, it may
seem like the only decision is which to choose. For students like Hoekstra
though, the choice is easy. "I want to go down there and really get in the mud,
really share and take some of their burden, because I know that I could not
ever imagine what I would do in their situation."

The Livingston CARES group, which formed in September as a
coalition of college and community members looking for a way to help in the
wake of Katrina, leaves for Harrison County March 10.

"I just do what I gotta' do regardless of who notices," said
Hoekstra.